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stephen cartwright
Guest
Exactly but I get the feeling once the initial freebie roll out finishes, then costs will come in, to change supplier to their smart meter
I'm a cynic though
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I'm a cynic though
As said the meters that will transfer come in next year and you won’t need to change meters when you change supplier they will all use each other’s meters.
exactly. I was talking to the engineer yesterday about it cos I thought they might need to code to my router to get the readings but he said it was similar to mobile phone technology
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stephen cartwright
Guest
We shall see. I'm not doubting you mate.
I remember when they were privatised and we all were due to get reduced bills due to competition. That went well
I've worked in the Industry as well.
redgauntlet
Striker
In itself, it saves you nothing other than getting you to think. Leave nowt on standby and get LED light bulbs, cheap as chips on ebay. Only thing to learn is brightness equivalents (7 or 8 adequate) you want warm white say in living room, pretty much same as ordinary light bulb. I use cool white which is bright and very white on stairs and bathroom (kitchen) and in the room where I do a lot of close work, model making etc.
There’s a section on the top of the meter or sometimes seperate depending who the supplier is called a comms hub. It basically just has the internals of a mobile phone in it. I think most of it is only 2g mobile data and 2.4ghz WiFi.
that is pretty much spot on. I was outside talking to him and getting all the info. curiosity more than anything else. couldnt do the gas though... has to come back.. didnt have a small enmough metre on the van
Most of the big firms are trialing the new meters now with installs to begin next year.
I know all that but we have hundreds of electric devices and in general if it means heat it means money. its just interesting to see how much difference an item uses. Also interesteing to get proper month on month readings of how much you are spending.
British Gas? They use the smaller e6 meters I believe.
yes BG. I have them for dual fuel
they had a bigger one similar to what I had but it wouldnt connect up cleanly so he said the smaller onje wojuld be easier but didnt have one on the van
redgauntlet
Striker
It’s your choice, just common sense. It pays to learn about that best devices to use, don’t use the tumble drier except when necessary, and never to warm clothes to put on.
of course its common sense and to be fair I'm in a situation where I dont really need to worry about it a great deal but I like having information in general
its good to teach the kids. I doubt it will save us any money at all tbf
ProfessionalMackem
Striker
You can limit the use of mobiles and can switch them off if you want. These bads boys will be going round the clock.
You may well be right mate. But I still think some more research into the effects is needed. We have so much "wave" pollution these days.
What's your take on them? Do you see the cost/benefits in favour of getting them?
Competition between the big companies doesn't exist mate. Just price fixing
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I think for some people they will help then save money if they pay attention to the devices the one my firm uses also has the ability to set targets to help you manage your spending which is good for people that struggle to manage their usage. Pre payment users will see the biggest benefit as they won’t need to go to the shop to top up and can do it online. There are other things they do that people don’t realise. The data they collect on usage is fed back to the grid so the power stations can predict usage better and make the power stations run more efficiently rather than guessing as they do at the minute. People who spend a lot of time away from home will benefit too as the automatic reads mean they don’t get an estimated bill when they haven’t been home for months at a time. Vunrable people who don’t like letting people in there homes will also benefit from them as they won’t have to let meter readers in on a regular basis. And theft will be massively reduced as the meters send a signal when they have been tampered with which everyone pays for in increased bills plus the safety aspect. There is also the advantage that the whole network and gas installs are being brought up to modern standards and dangerous appliances and faulty equipment being identified and made safe.
Hardyman's Yugo
Striker
Check your gas and electricity bills to see how much you are paying in fixed daily charges. You'll probably see its gone up quite a lot in the last year or so. It's basically to pay for the delivery infrastructure, roll out costs for smart meters will be in there I'll gamble
Royston Vasey
Striker
Yes - I had a British gas smart meter for 3 weeks which was then replaced by an OVO Energy one after I switched supplier. I also have solar panels. What's the problem?
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stephen cartwright
Guest
It's a while back now. They explained in the programme, rip off Britain. Maybe on BBC iplayer
Royston Vasey
Striker
There was also no cost for each install. When the panels are banging away when it's sunny it just shows zero leccy being used as I'm feeding back into the grid. Don't understand how it's a rip off?
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stephen cartwright
Guest
That was the programmes slant on them.
If you can get BBC iPlayer it will show you
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